A Comparison Between Caucasians and African Americans in Willingness to Participate in Cancer Clinical Trials: The Roles of Knowledge, Distrust, Information Sources, and Religiosity

Abstract

This study aims to (a) examine the roles of knowledge, distrust in medical professionals, information sources, and 2 dimensions of religiosity (i.e., religious activity and religious belief) in influencing willingness to participate (WTP) in cancer clinical trials and to (b) compare the results for Caucasians and African Americans in order to inform future recruitment. An online survey was fielded via a Knowledge Networks panel with a nationally representative sample including 478 Caucasians and 173 African Americans. The results showed that distrust in medical professionals was a strong barrier to WTP for both ethnic groups, whereas factual knowledge about trial procedures was not associated with WTP for either ethnic group. Seeking trial information from doctors was positively associated with WTP for Caucasians; seeking trial information from hospitals was positively associated with WTP for African Americans. More interestingly, levels of religious activity negatively predicted WTP for Caucasians but positively predicted WTP for African Americans. Self-reported religious belief was not associated with WTP for either ethnic group. In sum, although distrust is a common barrier to WTP, the influence of preferred information sources and religious activity on WTP varies as a function of ethnicity.

Telemedicine in Oncology and Reimbursement Policy During COVID-19 and Beyond

“…39 In addition, mistrust of research and the medical community are important reasons for lack of participation, especially among racial/ethnic minorities. [40][41][42] The mistrust of technology, research, and the medical community also presents challenges to the use of telemedicine in clinical research.…”

Behavioral brittleness: the case for strategic behavioral public policy

“…In contrast, SBPP combats brittleness by taking a more pluralistic approach, eliciting a broader set of data about users and contexts to generate an understanding how heterogeneous populations may perceive or be unequally affected by interventions while hypotheses are still being formed (Grand, 2020). For example, historically unequal treatment and access to healthcare has contributed to US Black and Brown populations' skepticism of public health officials, suggesting that Covid-19 vaccination messages delivered by trusted community leaders may prove more persuasive (Poteat et al, 2020) than those delivered by medical professionals (Meng et al, 2016;Cotrau et al, 2019;Golemon, 2019;Laurent-Simpson & Lo, 2019) or government officials (Wilkinson, 2013;Galizzi, 2014). Although addressing contextual brittleness remains distinct from achieving generalizability, gaining heterogeneous insight across user contexts through generative research methodologies can also contribute to the development of abstracted principles, or decision rules, that indicate how desirable characteristics of solutions might apply elsewhere without resorting to formula (Bohlen et al, 2020;Ho et al, 2020;Supplee & Kane, 2020).…”

Communication Apprehension About Death, Religious Group Affiliation, and Religiosity: Predictors of Organ and Body Donation Decisions

“…Different religions have a variety of different views about the donation process, often focused on compassion, stewardship, and love of humanity (Stephenson et al., 2008). Communication scholars have explored the impact of religiosity in a number of communication situations, including politics and ethnicity (e.g., Croucher, Juntunen, & Cheng, 2014; Croucher, Spencer, & McKee, 2014; Punyanunt-Carter, Corrigan, Wrench, & McCroskey, 2010), personal relationships (e.g., Forward, Sansom-Livolsi, & McGovern, 2008; Sheldon, 2014; Sheldon & Honeycutt, 2011), and health-care seeking behaviors (e.g., Croucher, 2013; Egbert, Mickley, & Coeling, 2004; Meng, McLaughlin, Pariera, & Murphy, 2016; Muturi & An, 2010). Less research has explored religiosity in relation to organ donation (Morgan, 2004; Morse et al., 2009; Stephenson et al., 2008), and none has explored the role of religiosity in body donation.…”